More than £1.5billion worth of unwanted online shopping items including women's dresses, shoes and underwear are piling up in wardrobes, according to new research.

Four in ten Britons have an average £77 of this stuff lying around because they have not got around to returning it because the task is too inconvenient and lengthy, a survey shows.

When asked why, 43 per cent said they could not be bothered and 39 per cent said they did not think the value warranted the effort.

Four in ten Britons have an average £77 of unwanted good because they have not got round to returning it

A fifth (21 per cent) are too busy, believing that it takes nearly half an hour to return something each time, suggesting time is put ahead of hard earned cash. Confusing processes were also identified as a major deterrent to sending an item back for 22 per cent.

The research commissioned by store chain Doddle found more than a third of adults have purchased items that they then don't want, but haven't returned to the retailer.

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Amongst the most commonly unreturned items were women's dresses, shoes and trousers, which occupied the top three spots.

Then came women's shirts or blouses, women's jeans, electrical equipment, women's jackets, homeware, jewellery and women's underwear, according to the One Poll survey of 2,000 people.

Most people say it is simply too inconvenient to return the item, or not worth the cost

Doddle has introduced changing rooms to a number of its stores to make trying and returning online purchases, easier. The facilities allow customers to collect, try and return, online unsuitable items.

Chief executive Tim Robinson said: 'Customers have become so frustrated with the processes for returning online purchases that they would rather forgo the cash from the refund, to skip the lengthy and inconvenient queues associated with the task.

'But it doesn't have to be this way. We launched Doddle so that customers can collect and return online purchases in less than two minutes. It's Doddle's mission to redefine online shopping by making collecting and returning parcels easy - and save customers' time and money.'